OpenAI partners with North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for hands-on AI workshop
Photo credit: Joe Casson
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) recently hosted a workshop in partnership with OpenAI, focusing on practical applications of ChatGPT across the state’s public schools.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT and other generative AI models, worked with NCDPI to deliver a hands-on session designed to explore classroom use cases and promote safe and effective AI adoption.
Joe Casson, Solutions Engineering Leader at OpenAI, said in a LinkedIn post that collaboration and direct engagement were key to the event’s success. “Hands on keyboard. Working alongside your colleagues. Brainstorming use cases. Digging in,” he wrote.
Casson noted that he and his colleague Sam were “extremely lucky to partner with Dr. Vanessa Wrenn and Vera Cubero from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction,” explaining that the day brought together “many of the brightest minds in NC's public schools for a day long workshop in ChatGPT.”
Focus on responsible innovation
According to Casson, participants were actively engaged and open to learning from one another. “People are pumped to share learnings. They're also unafraid to be vulnerable and critical. They pay full attention. I firmly believe that it's where real learning happens,” he said.
He also praised North Carolina’s broader leadership in AI education policy. “North Carolina is at the forefront of AI for K12,” Casson wrote, adding that the state was “one of the first four states to adopt an AI policy” and “one of the most active in up-skilling their teachers and staff.”
Dr. Vanessa Wrenn, Chief Information Officer at NCDPI, responded to Casson’s post, emphasizing the importance of ethical AI use. “We appreciated your expertise and [are] grateful for the energy and eagerness to learn safe, responsible and ethical usage,” she wrote, noting that “MCPs will have such an impact on data analysis.”
Vera Cubero, an AI in education strategist who also attended the session, added: “We appreciated it so much and so did all of the attendees. We got fantastic feedback!”
Casson closed his post by calling for continued cooperation between states, educators, and technology providers. “More events like these. More leaders like Vanessa and Vera. More states like North Carolina. A brighter future in education is coming,” he wrote.
